Meteotsunamis Characterization for Gulf of Mexico Using Meteotsunami Rose Charts

In recent years, there has been an increase in awareness and research on meteotsunamis (MT) caused by atmospheric disturbances (AD), such as widespread and long-lived cold fronts, squalls, and storms. In this work, an AD model that was developed previously has been used along with depth-integrated Navier Stokes equations to conduct 34,560 numerical experiments in the Gulf of Mexico using High-Performance Computing. The data generated is visualized with a newly developed characterization tool—the meteotsunami rose chart, described in detail. For a given location, MT rose charts provide a detailed relationship between the expected maximum MT amplitude and the AD’s path, direction, and forward speed. Another new tool, the severe MT rose charts, complements these by summarizing the case scenarios with an amplitude of more than 0.3 m. An interactive online implementation has also been introduced. A sensitivity study conducted on the various constant parameters associated with it gives an idea of the factors to account for when using MT rose charts. The newly developed visualization tools are used to study the meteotsunami hazard for Clearwater Beach, FL; some critical scenarios were identified, and observations were made. These tools were then applied to 7 other places along the Gulf of Mexico to draw some broad conclusions on how the bathymetry of the region relates to severe MT hazard scenarios. It was observed that relatively slower-moving ADs produce the most severe MTs along coasts with broad continental shelves. In comparison, narrower continental shelves cause the most severe MTs for fast-moving ADs.